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Description: (9200 Old Dominion Dr, McLean VA 22030)
Parking lot coordinates: N38.997640 W77.255319
Be sure to bring your National Park Service Pass or you will have to pay $20 per vehicle to enter the park. Restrooms are available at the Visitors Center by the Parking lot.
Easy hike of about 4.3 miles in Great Falls Park with spectacular views and sounds of the Potomac River coursing below. Meet at 10:15 at the Visitor Center parking lot. Bring water, snacks, lunch & hiking poles. There are no stream crossings, but there is a short climb and a short segment of uneven terrain to navigate. The hike starts at the Visitor Center and will go north for about 3/4 mile until we reach just south of the Washington Aqueduct. At that point, we will turn around with the option to either retrace our steps on level ground or follow the path along the edge of the water back to the Visitor Center area. Then we will have a choice of 3 observation decks to experience the view of the falls before we go south on the Matildaville Trail with a jog over to the Old Carriage Road. We will return north via the Ridge Trail / Old Carriage Lane. The min/max elevation for this hike is 64/297 ft. Plan for around 2 1/2 hours. After the hike, we can have lunch at the picnic tables by the Great Falls Visitor Center or at a restaurant in Great Falls Village, about 2 miles or 4 minutes away. Call the hike leader on the morning of the hike if weather conditions are uncertain.